Newest squeeze? Juice, smoothie bar

A new juice and smoothie bar soon will offer Jacksonville residents healthy beverages made with fresh ingredients, according to owner Jessica Lynn.

The Fresh Press, which will be at 216 Mauvisterre St., will fill a need in town for a place to get fresh juice and smoothies.

“I’m from Ventura, California, and we had a lot of juice and smoothie bars down there,” Lynn said. “I’ve been talking with my husband, Bobby, about how we should have something like that here in town … It’s hard to be healthy, sometimes, and everyone wants to try and be healthy. It’s difficult when there’s no product around to come to.”

With Jacksonville’s gyms staying busy throughout the year, Lynn expects The Fresh Press to be a hit with Jacksonville’s fitness-minded residents.

Lynn intends to use fresh ingredients and will source locally whenever she can, utilizing the area’s farmers markets when they’re open, she said.

She hopes to create special seasonal drinks when particular fruits and vegetables are in season, she said.

“I’ve gone to the grocery store so much and bought so many different types of produce to mix together and mix and match,” Lynn said. “I’ve been doing that for the last eight months, trying to make the best kinds of recipes for our customers. I’ll have six signature juices as far as your greens, reds and oranges, and then we’ll have classic juices and customized juices.”

Lynn is in the process of remodeling the site to give it a relaxing motif with a bit of a rustic look, she said. She also hopes to include a library space where people can pick up a book or drop one off as they please.

“We’re also having a couple students from MacMurray do a mural on our wall for us, so I’m excited about that,” Lynn said.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.